Demographics of French Guiana

Historical population estimates and average annual growth rate
YearPop.±% p.a.
179014,520—    
183920,940+0.75%
185725,561+1.11%
189133,500+0.80%
Source: INSEE estimates
Census population and average annual growth rate
YearPop.±% p.a.
193637,005—    
194625,499−3.66%
195427,863+1.11%
196133,505+2.67%
196744,392+4.80%
197455,125+3.14%
198273,022+3.58%
1990114,678+5.80%
1999156,790+3.54%
2007213,031+3.91%
2012239,648+2.38%
2017268,700+2.31%
2023293,996+1.51%
Source: SPLAF (1954-1961) and INSEE (1967-2023)

The demographics of French Guiana are characterized by a young population with 32% below the age of 15 in 2023. The total population stood at 293,996 as of 1 January 2023. The demographic profile is a reflection of the territory's high fertility rates. Regarding nationality, as of 2010, 64.5% of the population had French nationality, while 35.5% were of foreign nationality with significant communities from Suriname, Haiti, and Brazil among others.

Population

According to INSEE the population of French Guiana was 293,996 as of 1 January 2023. The population is very young: 32% are below the age of 15, while only 1.2% are 80 years or older. The age distribution is a reflection of the high fertility rates of French Guiana.[citation needed]

Structure of the population

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.01.2010) (Provisional) :
Age group Male Female Total %
Total 113 824 116 617 230 441 100
0-4 14 591 13 849 28 440 12.34
5-9 14 090 13 618 27 708 12.02
10-14 12 843 12 024 24 867 10.79
15-19 10 729 10 672 21 401 9.29
20-24 7 728 8 478 16 206 7.03
25-29 7 281 9 109 16 390 7.11
30-34 7 692 8 676 16 368 7.10
35-39 7 877 8 865 16 742 7.27
40-44 7 415 7 650 15 065 6.54
45-49 6 698 6 582 13 280 5.76
50-54 5 397 5 148 10 545 4.58
55-59 4 207 4 107 8 314 3.61
60-64 2 931 2 684 5 615 2.44
65-69 1 740 1 693 3 433 1.49
70-74 1 083 1 260 2 343 1.02
75-79 752 974 1 726 0.75
80-84 433 619 1 052 0.46
85-89 225 402 627 0.27
90-94 77 144 221 0.10
95+ 35 63 98 0.04
Age group Male Female Total Percent
0-14 41 524 39 491 81 015 35.16
15-64 67 955 71 971 139 926 60.72
65+ 4 345 5 155 9 500 4.12
Population by Sex and Age Group (Census 01.I.2015):
Age group Male Female Total %
Total 128 973 130 892 259 865 100
0–4 14 800 14 161 28 961 11.14
5–9 15 050 14 512 29 563 11.38
10–14 14 151 14 085 28 237 10.87
15–19 12 158 11 784 23 941 9.21
20–24 8 960 9 569 18 529 7.13
25–29 8 674 9 890 18 563 7.14
30–34 9 230 9 846 19 077 7.34
35–39 9 068 9 326 18 394 7.08
40–44 8 701 8 949 17 650 6.79
45–49 7 357 7 359 14 715 5.66
50–54 6 042 6 091 12 133 4.67
55–59 5 010 4 941 9 951 3.83
60–64 3 959 3 790 7 749 2.98
65-69 2 574 2 464 5 038 1.94
70-74 1 496 1 570 3 066 1.18
75-79 860 999 1 859 0.72
80-84 479 758 1 237 0.48
85-89 257 466 723 0.28
90-94 102 254 356 0.14
95-99 32 68 100 0.04
100+ 13 10 23 0.01
Age group Male Female Total Percent
0–14 44 001 42 758 86 759 33.39
15–64 79 159 81 545 160 704 61.84
65+ 5 813 6 589 12 402 4.77
Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.I.2021):
Age group Male Female Total %
Total 140 463 150 065 290 528 100
0–4 15 210 15 355 30 565 10.52
5–9 15 253 15 368 30 621 10.54
10–14 15 265 15 006 30 271 10.42
15–19 13 697 13 899 27 596 9.50
20–24 10 402 10 901 21 303 7.33
25–29 8 367 10 345 18 712 6.44
30–34 9 119 11 051 20 170 6.94
35–39 9 170 10 909 20 079 6.91
40–44 8 884 9 650 18 534 6.38
45–49 7 891 8 787 16 678 5.74
50–54 7 211 7 412 14 623 5.03
55–59 6 107 6 372 12 479 4.30
60–64 5 009 5 165 10 174 3.50
65-69 3 714 3 705 7 419 2.55
70-74 2 440 2 545 4 985 1.72
75-79 1 394 1 559 2 953 1.02
80-84 744 1 012 1 756 0.60
85-89 397 539 936 0.32
90-94 118 297 415 0.14
95-99 42 142 184 0.06
100+ 29 46 75 0.03
Age group Male Female Total Percent
0–14 45 728 45 729 91 457 31.48
15–64 85 857 94 491 180 348 62.08
65+ 8 878 9 845 18 723 6.44

Vital statistics

The total fertility rate in French Guiana has remained high and is today considerably higher than in metropolitan France, and also higher than the average of the French overseas departments. It is largely responsible for the high population growth of French Guiana.

Average population Live births Deaths Natural change Crude birth rate (per 1000) Crude death rate (per 1000) Natural change (per 1000) Total fertility rate
1936 24,000 355554-199 14.823.1-8.3
1937 24,000 408487-79 17.020.3-3.3
1938 24,000 381649-268 15.927.0-11.2
1939 24,000 333499-166 13.920.8-6.9
1940 24,000 436505-69 18.221.0-2.9
1941 24,000 437626-189 18.226.1-7.9
1942 24,000 453733-280 18.930.5-11.7
1943 24,000 422702-280 17.629.3-11.7
1944 24,000 474627-153 19.826.1-6.4
1945 24,000 62053981 25.822.53.4
1946 24,000 515596-81 21.524.8-3.4
1947 24,000 539623-84 22.526.0-3.5
1948 25,000 529547-18 21.221.9-0.7
1949 25,000 607471136 24.318.85.4
1950 25,000 590384206 23.615.48.2
1951 26,000 558383175 21.514.76.7
1952 27,000 781462319 30.017.812.3
1953 27,000 720426294 26.715.810.9
1954 28,000 900378522 32.113.518.6
1955 29,000 941377564 32.613.019.5
1956 29,000 949411538 32.113.918.2
1957 30,000 993426567 33.014.218.8
1958 31,000 940404536 30.913.317.6
1959 31,000 1,043460583 34.115.019.1
1960 32,000 1,026451575 31.413.817.6
1961 34,000 1,066487579 31.814.517.3
1962 35,000 1,041410631 30.111.818.2
1963 36,000 1,118446672 31.112.418.7
1964 38,000 1,213399814 32.010.521.5
1965 39,000 1,161403758 29.010.119.0
1966 41,000 1,244401843 29.59.520.0
1967 43,000 1,281376905 29.28.620.6
1968 45,000 1,390408982 30.48.921.5
1969 47,000 1,424431993 30.09.120.9
1970 49,000 1,5843851,199 32.27.824.4
1971 50,000 1,6004001,200 31.47.823.5
1972 52,000 1,6703991,271 31.77.624.1
1973 54,000 1,4734181,055 27.17.719.4
1974 55,000 1,5294351,094 27.47.819.6
1975 57,000 1,4764081,068 25.67.118.5
1976 59,000 1,4394151,024 24.27.017.2
1977 61,000 1,4764631,013 24.07.516.4
1978 63,000 1,5684701,098 24.57.417.2
1979 65,000 1,7044541,250 25.76.918.9
1980 68,000 1,9334681,465 28.16.821.3
1981 71,000 2,0924281,664 29.36.023.3
1982 74,000 2,3794921,887 31.66.525.1
1983 78,000 2,3144891,825 28.96.122.8
1984 83,000 2,3194911,828 27.35.821.5
1985 87,000 2,4825011,981 27.65.622.0
1986 93,000 2,3924911,901 25.25.220.0
1987 99,000 2,7005502,150 27.25.621.7
1988 105,000 3,0005502,450 28.55.223.2
1989 111,000 3,3005502,750 29.64.924.7
1990 113,351 3,6065943,012 30.85.125.7
1991 117,327 3,9225833,339 32.24.827.4
1992 121,469 4,0455683,477 32.04.527.5
1993 125,786 4,1135783,535 31.54.427.1
1994 130,282 4,1886183,570 31.54.626.8
1995 134,968 4,2645403,671 30.73.926.8
1996 139,848 4,3315563,775 30.43.826.6
1997 144,937 4,4265983,828 30.13.826.3
1998 150,242 4,6966074,089 30.64.026.6 3.83
1999 155,760 4,9076484,259 30.94.126.8 3.87
2000 162,018 5,1496354,514 31.23.827.4 3.94
2001 168,614 5,1406604,480 29.93.926.0 3.79
2002 176,638 5,2766694,607 29.43.725.7 3.73
2003 184,792 5,5537214,832 29.73.925.8 3.77
2004 193,167 5,3127194,593 27.33.723.6 3.47
2005 199,206 5,9987055,293 29.73.526.2 3.79
2006 205,954 6,2767115,565 30.13.426.7 3.80
2007 213,031 6,3866905,696 29.83.226.6 3.74
2008 219,266 6,2477625,485 28.43.524.9 3.57
2009 224,469 6,1716995,472 27.43.124.3 3.50
2010 229,040 6,0827735,309 26.33.323.0 3.37
2011 237,549 6,2597145,545 26.43.023.4 3.42
2012 239,648 6,6097895,820 27.23.224.0 3.60
2013 244,118 6,4747675,707 26.13.123.0 3.47
2014 252,338 6,5917865,805 25.93.122.8 3.44
2015 259,865 6,8068345,972 26.23.223.0 3.44
2016 269,352 7,2709016,369 26.93.323.6 3.61
2017 268,700 8,0579647,093 29.63.526.1 3.92
2018 276,128 7,9958997,096 28.73.225.5 3.82
2019 281,678 8,1041,0207,084 28.63.625.0 3.82
2020 285,133 7,9929907,002 28.03.524.5 3.75
2021 286,618 8,1271,3656,762 28.34.723.6 3.81
2022 288,382 7,7181,2106,508 26.54.222.3 3.61
2023 290,110 7,6891,2286,461 26.14.221.9 3.57
2024 291,774 6,8491,1915,658 23.14.019.1 3.05
2025 292,354 6,630 22.54.018.5 2.89

Infant mortality rate

The infant mortality in French Guiana is higher than in metropolitan France:

Life expectancy

At birth, life expectancy is 76.2 years for male children, and 82.8 for female (figures for 2011).

Ethnic groups

Estimates of the percentages of French Guiana ethnic composition vary, a situation compounded by the large proportion of immigrants.

Creoles, or Mulattoes (people of mixed African and French ancestry), are the largest ethnic group, though estimates vary as to the exact percentage, depending upon whether the large Haitian community is included as well. Generally the Creole population is judged to be about 60 to 70% of the total population if Haitians (comprising roughly one-third of Creoles) are included, and 30 to 50% without.

Roughly 41,000 people or 14% of the population of French Guiana is of European ancestry. The vast majority of these are of French heritage, though there are also people of Dutch, British, Spanish and Portuguese ancestry.

The main Asian communities are the Chinese (about 3-4%, primarily from Zhejiang province in mainland China and Hong Kong) and Hmong from Laos (1-2%). There are also smaller groups from various Caribbean islands, mainly Saint Lucia as well as Dominica. Other Asian groups include East Indians, Lebanese and Vietnamese.

The main groups living in the interior are the Maroons (formerly called "Bush Negroes") who are from African descent, and Amerindians. The Maroons, descendants of escaped African slaves, live primarily along the Maroni River. The main Maroon groups are the Saramaka, Ndyuka (both of whom also live in Suriname), and Boni (Aluku). The Maroons are the fastest growing ethnic group, and as of 2018 constitute about one-third of the total population with an estimated population of close to 100,000 people.

The main Amerindian groups (estimated population about 10,000) are the Aparai, Kalina, Lokono, Palikur, Teko, Wayampi and Wayana. The estimated population for the beginning of the 17th century was 30,000 people. Until the middle of the 20th century, there was a sharp decline in population to almost 1,200 people in 1961 which was mainly caused by European diseases. Improved health care managed to turn the tide.

Nationality

As of 2020, Brazilians have become the largest foreign nationality in French Guiana, which has somewhat altered the composition of the foreign population there.

On 1 January 2010, 64.5% of the population had French nationality, while 35.5% had a foreign nationality. Of these, Surinamese (13.8% of the total population), Haitians (8.8%) and Brazilians (8.7%) were the largest groups. Smaller groups included people with nationality of Guyana (1.7%), Colombia (1.0%), China (0.5%), the Dominican Republic (0.4%) and Peru (0.2%).

Country of birth Population Source
Brazil 92,493 (official data in 2023 source) Gov.br
Metropolitan France 24,000 (data of 2020 source) Ulaval.ca
Surinam 19,000 − 32,000
Haiti 24,000 − 28,000
Dominican Republic 20,000 (official data in source) la1ere.fr
Venezuela 19,000
Peru 2,500 (official data in 2023 source) Gob.pe
Colombia 2,500

Languages

French and French Guianese Creole (a local French-based creole) are the most widely spoken languages. There are also several native languages, including Arawakan (Arawak and Palikúr), Cariban (Carib and Wayana), and Tupi-Guarani (Emerillon and Wayampi) languages. On the border with Suriname, Maroon people use the English-based creoles of Ndyuka and Sranan Tongo (both spoken in Suriname) as lingua francas, while immigrant languages spoken include Antillean Creole, Brazilian Portuguese, Haitian Creole, Hakka Chinese, Hmong and Javanese. The official language, like for all overseas departments and territories of France, is French.

Religion

Religion in French Guiana (ARDA 2015)
  1. Catholic Church (74.3%)
  2. Protestant (9.90%)
  3. Christian syncretic (3.50%)
  4. Chinese folk religion (2.90%)
  5. Hinduism (1.60%)
  6. Other religion (4.40%)
  7. No religion (3.40%)

The dominant religion of French Guiana is Catholicism; some of the Maroons and Amerindian people maintain their own religions, however large tribes like the Kalina, Ndyuka have been Christianized.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Historique de la Guyane, SPLAF
  2. 1 2 Population municipale entre 1968 et 2023, INSEE
  3. ↑ "United Nations Statistics Division - Demographic and Social Statistics". Unstats.un.org. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  4. 1 2 "UNSD — Demographic and Social Statistics". unstats.un.org. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  5. ↑ "TABLEAU P3D – INDICATEURS GÉNÉRAUX DE LA POPULATION PAR DÉPARTEMENT ET RÉGION". Insee.fr (in French). Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  6. ↑ "United Nations Statistics Division - Demographic and Social Statistics". Unstats.un.org. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  7. ↑ "Résultats de la recherche - Insee". Insee.fr. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  8. ↑ "Résultats de la recherche - Insee". Insee.fr. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  9. 1 2 3 "Une population métissée". Guyane Amazonie (in French). 16 February 2015. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  10. ↑ Price, Richard (2018). "Maroons in Guyane". New West Indian Guide. New West Indian Guide / Nieuwe West-Indische Gids Volume 92: Issue 3-4. 92 (3–4). Brill Publishers: 275–283. doi:10.1163/22134360-09203001. S2CID 134482919. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  11. 1 2 Françoise Grenand and Pierre Grenand (1976). "Les amérindiens de Guyane française aujourd'hui : éléments de compréhension". Persée. Journal de la société des américanistes (in French). 66 (1): 363-364. doi:10.3406/jsa.1979.3041.
  12. ↑ Michotte Jean. Un pays sous-développé sous-peuplé : l'exemple de la Guyane. Institution française publique de recherche (Thesis) (in French). Université de Bordeaux. p. 57. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  13. ↑ "Résultats de la recherche". Insee.fr. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  14. ↑ "Comunidade Brasileira no Exterior – Estimativas referentes ao ano de 2023" (PDF) (in Brazilian Portuguese). Ministry of External Relations. 1 July 2024. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 August 2023. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  15. ↑ "Guyane française". Axl.cefan.ulaval.ca/. Archived from the original on 1 October 2025. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  16. ↑ "Du 20 au 27 février se tient à Cayenne une opération de régularisation d'état-civil pour les ressortissants dominicains, 800 personnes ont été inscrites". la1ere. 22 February 2022. Archived from the original on 12 December 2025. Retrieved 10 October 2026.
  17. ↑ "Consulado General del Perú en París acerca sus servicios a los connacionales en Guyana Francesa". gob.pe. 30 November 2023. Archived from the original on 6 December 2024. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
  18. 1 2 "French Guiana". Ethnologue.com. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  19. ↑ "French Guiana". Association of Religion Data Archives. 2015. Archived from the original on 2 May 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  20. ↑ "French Guiana". Retrieved 5 August 2020.